The caller was Cody Crawford.
"Brother, why aren’t you answering? I’ve called you three or four times; if you don’t answer, I’ll have to call the police."
"Somehow my phone was on silent, I didn’t hear it." Vincent Hawthorne raised an eyebrow, "Why didn’t you call my work number?"
"Didn’t you change your work number half a month ago? I didn’t save it."
Vincent recalled that he changed his work number just two days before Tanya Sinclair woke up.
He’s been too busy during that time, so Cindy Lynn was the one to handle it.
"What do you want with me?" Vincent asked while browsing through unread messages on his phone.
Suddenly he paused at the sight of a missed call from Tanya Sinclair, the time was during the morning office hours.
The ringtone lasted for over a minute.
Vincent frowned slightly, turned and walked out. He sat on the sofa, picked up his work phone and checked it, finding Cindy Lynn’s call came right after the one from Tanya Sinclair.
So, did she deliberately make it difficult for Cindy Lynn at that time, preventing her from moving the laboratory equipment, just because she couldn’t get through on her own call?
Vincent massaged the bridge of his nose in slight frustration,
"Boss Lucas is organizing a gathering tonight, inviting a lot of spoiled second-generation from the elite circle to hang out." Cody Crawford’s voice continued in his ear.
Vincent didn’t refuse: "Okay, what time and where?"
He happened to want to relax a bit too.
Moreover, Rhys Lucas rarely organized gatherings, borrowing the shade of Old Master Lucas, many second-generations from the aristocratic class would give face to the event.
"Eight pm, The Dissonance." Check latest chapters at nοvelfire.net
When Tanya Sinclair finished her work and looked up, the night had already descended outside. She twisted her stiff neck, her joints cracking audibly.
She picked up her phone and saw two missed calls from Vincent Hawthorne.
Each ring lasted less than twenty seconds, and when she didn’t answer promptly, he lost patience and hung up.
There wasn’t another call following.
Actually, she was in the R&D department, if Vincent Hawthorne really wanted to find her, it would take only ten minutes to come down from upstairs.
Tanya Sinclair sat there with her phone, recalling the time when Vincent Hawthorne and Cody Crawford went hiking in the mountains with some friends.
They promised to return in three days, and she waited at the foot of the mountain with his favorite snacks.
But everyone returned except for Vincent Hawthorne, and she couldn’t reach him by phone.
Even Cody Crawford and the others were bewildered; Vincent Hawthorne had left early for a call from home, but they thought he had already come out. Only when Cody Crawford asked The Hawthorne Family did they discover Vincent hadn’t returned yet.
Tanya Sinclair was frantic with concern, and even called the police, but they said he had been missing for too short a time, and with a heavy rain coming and the danger of entering the mountain at night, they had to wait until morning to move.
She was distraught and ventured into the mountain herself, armed with equipment.
The mountain night was cold, and the ground was slippery and wet. Tanya Sinclair was actually afraid of the dark, but somehow that night she summoned the courage to shout Vincent Hawthorne’s name, her experiment-calloused hands bleeding from tree branches.
Eventually, she found him in a cave.
Vincent Hawthorne was huddled in a corner, looking disheveled; he had taken a shortcut down the mountain during the day and injured his leg. His backpack had rolled down the mountain, making it impossible to reach him.
With the storm threatening, the cave was unsafe and could collapse at any moment.
Tanya Sinclair hastily treated Vincent Hawthorne’s leg injury, and despite weighing barely ninety pounds, she gritted her teeth and carried him down the mountain.
First, she supported him with his arm as a crutch; later, his leg hurt so much that she draped his arms over her shoulders and carried him.
A man nearly six feet tall weighed heavily on her back, as if she bore a mountain on her shoulders. Tanya Sinclair grit her teeth, her legs scraped raw, blood washing clean in icy, bone-chilling rain, pain made her numb.
All the way down, she had one thought--don’t let anything happen to Vincent Hawthorne!
That belief carried her until she brought him out, and when she saw Cody Crawford and the search-and-rescue team brought by The Hawthorne Family, she finally exhaled and collapsed to the ground.
When she awoke, she was in a nearby hospital while Vincent Hawthorne had been airlifted by The Hawthorne Family to a private hospital, under the care of the best orthopedic surgeons.
Doctors examined her, remarking on her luck.
"The wound on your right thigh, if it were half an inch deeper, it would have injured the nerve, and you might have been paralyzed!" The doctors were incredulous, "Didn’t it hurt? How could you hold out for so long...?"
It’s been eight years.
Tanya Sinclair touched the outside of her right thigh through the fabric, where a scar of over a dozen centimeters remained, a testament to her once risking her life for love.
That night, Vincent Hawthorne whispered in her ear as he rested on her back.
Tanya Sinclair vaguely recalled, as if hearing twenty-year-old Vincent whispered in her ear.
"Why are you so good, Tanya?" he choked up, "I’ll never let you down."
In those years, Vincent Hawthorne often spoke of how wonderful she was, causing her to neglect the fact that he never once said he loved her.
Tanya Sinclair packed her things and went to the front desk to pick up the company-provided vehicle keys.
She had asked about it yesterday, and they replied it would be ready today.
The staff checked and apologized, "Sorry, Manager Sinclair, Manager Lynn already sent someone to pick up the keys this afternoon. Perhaps you can apply with President Hawthorne for another vehicle? Before, there was only you as the R&D manager, so the company just equipped one car."
Her benefit was given entirely to Cindy Lynn.
Even the staff at the front desk felt sorry for her, looking at her with sympathy.
Tanya Sinclair replied mildly that it was okay, and turned to leave the company, planning to catch a ride home.
However, during rush hour , rides are hard to come by.
She looked at the rideshare app, seeing 17 people ahead in line, which gave her a headache.
To top it off, the weather turned, and light rain began to fall. Tanya Sinclair looked up at the swirling dark clouds in the sky
Then a WeChat message popped up on the homepage.
It was from Daisy Bell’s alternate account.
Odyssey: [Are you off work yet?]
Tanya Sinclair replied somewhat helplessly: [Yeah, waiting for a car by the roadside. Hard to catch one at this hour, maybe I should take the subway instead.]
Accompanied by a crying emoji.
Odyssey: [Go back to the company to avoid the rain, wait for me two minutes.]
Isn’t Daisy Bell filming out of town?
How did she know it’s raining here?
Tanya Sinclair: [How did you know it’s raining over here?]
Odyssey: [I followed the weather in Aris, it showed rain.]
Tanya Sinclair couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and smile, noticing how Daisy Bell seemed more mature and steady since using the alternate account, not even sending emojis.
But what did waiting two minutes mean?
Tanya Sinclair was about to ask further when a white sedan slid up and stopped in front of her.
"Is it Ms. Sinclair?" The driver in suit and tie stepped out to shield Tanya Sinclair with an umbrella, "Sorry for the wait, please get in the car."
Odyssey: [Did the car arrive yet?]
So it turned out to be Daisy Bell’s arrangement, and Tanya Sinclair lowered her guard, thanked him, and got into the backseat.
She held her phone, using voice reply: "I’m in the car now, dear, you’re so timely. You’re practically my savior."
Meanwhile, just across the street.
Amidst the steady rain, a black Bentley Continental was parked in the corner.
In the backseat, Declan Pierce’s tall figure was ensconced in shadow, his dark eyes watching through the rain as Tanya Sinclair got into the car.
The phone screen lit up again, the light catching his gaze.
Declan Pierce glanced at the dialogue box where Tanya Sinclair’s voice message awaited, the red dot urging him to listen.
He licked his dry lips, suddenly finding himself a bit ridiculous.
Feeling anxious just because of a voice message from Tanya Sinclair.
He searched briefly, forgetting to bring headphones.
Declan Pierce felt frustrated.
"Janne Hayes." He kicked the seat back in front.
"Get out of the car."
Janne Hayes: "...Alright, President Pierce."
Though he did not understand, as a special assistant earning a seven-figure monthly salary, he respected all his boss’ decisions.